ABN AMRO Bank N.V. Purchases 11,250 Shares of Southern Company (The) $SO

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. grew its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO) by 53.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 32,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,250 shares during the quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.’s holdings in Southern were worth $2,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SO. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Southern by 320.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 33,548,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,179,425,000 after buying an additional 25,567,431 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,097,422 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,912 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,057,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,422,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,090 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 1,518.4% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,044,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,880,000 after purchasing an additional 979,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Southern by 790.6% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 811,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,542,000 after purchasing an additional 720,589 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southern Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE SO opened at $93.10 on Tuesday. Southern Company has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $100.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.95 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $95.67 and its 200 day moving average is $91.86.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Southern had a return on equity of 12.64% and a net margin of 14.46%.Southern’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Southern’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Southern in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho set a $105.00 target price on Southern in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $104.00 target price on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Southern from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Southern in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 25,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.67, for a total transaction of $2,416,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 103,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,015,205.34. The trade was a 19.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 6,669 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.55, for a total transaction of $643,891.95. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,973,740. This represents a 17.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southern Company Profile

Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is an Atlanta-based energy holding company that provides electric and gas utility services and owns power generation assets across the United States. Founded in 1945, the company operates a portfolio of regulated electric utilities and affiliated businesses that generate, transmit and distribute electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Southern’s principal regulated electric subsidiaries include Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, which serve large portions of the southeastern United States.